ARLINGTON, Texas — George Lombard Jr. is suddenly on the doorstep of the big leagues.
The Yankees have promoted their top prospect to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a source confirmed on Tuesday night, after he crushed the first month of the season at Double-A Somerset.
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Try it freeLombard, who turns 21 on June 2, was batting .312 with a .971 OPS in 20 games at Somerset after going through some growing pains in 108 games there last year.
The Yankees believe that the shortstop — who has also played some occasional third base — is already ready defensively for the big leagues, but they wanted to see his bat catch up to his glove.
Lombard has impressed in each of the last two springs, as a non-roster invite to big league camp, both with his talent and his character.
The son of a former big leaguer (and current Tigers bench coach), Lombard has often been lauded for his “off-the-charts” makeup and baseball IQ.
It may not be long before the organization’s first-round pick in 2023 makes it to The Bronx — the only question, now — he is just one level away from the major leagues, is how soon it happens.
Giancarlo Stanton was back in a familiar spot Tuesday, with familiar feelings about it.
The veteran DH officially landed on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade right calf strain, and while a Monday MRI exam revealed he was not dealing with something more severe, that did little to temper his frustration with going on the IL for an eighth straight season.
“At this point, there’s no real peace of mind if you’re going to be out,” Stanton said before Tuesday’s game at Globe Life Field. “It’s better [that] it won’t be a long time, but out again is not ideal.”
Stanton was not yet sure how long he might be out, indicating that he would have a better gauge of that during the upcoming homestand once he started to move around more.
“It’s good that it’s not high-grade, but at the same time, you got to make sure it doesn’t happen again and you don’t re-aggravate it,” Stanton said. “Just got to be smart with it.”
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The 36-year-old is still able to hit, but has not tried running since sustaining the injury Friday. The first day he is eligible to come off the IL is May 5, though it remains to be seen whether he will be ready that soon.
“Hopefully it’s not something that’s long, but obviously [Stanton] has had some of these lower-body issues before,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re just going to listen to that and certainly not rush anything. Hopefully it’s on the shorter side of things.”
Angel Chivilli, who flew back to New York to undergo tests after being placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, will not throw for at least three weeks because of a shoulder injury.
Boone did not have the exact diagnosis, but said the reliever “had some acute and chronic stuff going on in there,” which will keep him from being a bullpen option again at least until June.
José Caballero started the season a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen bases, but since is 1-for-4 over his past four games. He went 0-for-3 in Tuesday’s win and did not have a steal attempt.
“We certainly want to be smart all the time, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to take some chances and take some risks sometimes,” Boone said. “I trust in his ability to execute out there and certainly don’t want him to shy away. We need him to play out there with that kind of confidence and swagger and have that continue to be part of his game — not to say we don’t want to be as smart as we can in certain spots.”
The Yankees called up utility player Max Schuemann on Tuesday as a roster replacement for Stanton.
Schuemann was likely just making a one-day cameo, since the Yankees will have to open a roster spot again Wednesday to make room for Elmer Rodríguez being called up to make his MLB debut.
Anthony Volpe played in another rehab game Tuesday with Double-A Somerset, and is scheduled to play another Wednesday before the Yankees decide his next steps.